The most obvious types of bullying involve hurting, threatening, intimidating, maliciously teasing and taunting, etc. And Social networking being what it is today, a new phenomenon called Cyberbullying (encouraging others to reject or spreading rumors about a child through social media) is escalating exponentially across the United States.Bullying causes children to feel helpless and hopeless.  Some of the following statistics from B.U.L.L.Y., Inc. may shock you:

• 43% of students fear harassment in the bathroom at school
• 160,000 students miss school each day for fear of being bullied
• 280,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month
• 1 out of 4 students will be abused by another youth
• Every 7 minutes a child is bullied

The good news is, there are laws to protect children from this type of social abuse.  Bullying should not be taken lightly.  It may be beneficial to schedule a consultation with a personal injury attorney to discuss your family’s options in dealing with a relentless bully or a school system that is not taking the situation seriously enough.  It’s also important you sit down with your child and reassure them that alerting you about the bullying is the right thing to do.